He said to me: The Salafis/Wahabis stick to the notion of the good forefathers or ancestors who are inviolable, right?

I said to him: Yes, and in so doing, they fall into polytheism and unbelief.

He said: This is a terrible accusation from you.

I said: Unbelief or the accusation of polytheism here is not directed to certain people but to the notion and demeanor, with the purpose of reforming such people.

He said: What proof do you have to assert the hypothesis that Salafism/Wahabism is a sort of polytheism and unbelief?

I said: I can cite more than one proof. First of all, they have made the ancestors' thought a full-fledged creed/religion and Salafism a title to that religion.

He said: What is wrong in that?

I said: God in the Quran tells us that He has made Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue/people an example and a Salaf (i.e., precedent, former, and bygone people) for those coming after them. "Thus We made them a precedent and an example for the others."(43:56). God says in the Quran that any unbelievers who came later after the times of Moses' Pharaoh, like in the Qorayish tribe and others, are following the ways and route of the retinue/people of Moses' Pharaoh; i.e., following his path/demeanor/ways/fate. "As for those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them anything against God. These will be fuel for the Fire.Like the behavior of Pharaoh's people and those before them. They rejected Our signs, so God seized them for their sins. God is Strict in retribution."(3:10-11). "If only you could see, as the angels take away those who disbelieve, striking their faces and their backs: "Taste the agony of the Burning"."That is because of what your hands have committed, and because God is not unjust to the servants." Like the behavior of the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They rejected the signs of God, so God seized them for their sins. God is Powerful, Severe in punishment. That is because God would never change a blessing He has bestowed on a people unless they change what is within themselves, and because God is Hearing and Knowing.Such was the case with the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We annihilated them for their wrongs, and We drowned the people of Pharaoh-they were all evildoers. The worst of creatures in God's view are those who disbelieve. They have no faith."(8:50-55). That is the meaning of turning Salafism into a religion in relation to the term itself.

He said: What about the relation of the meaning of Salafism and unbelief and polytheism as well?

I said: Of course, Salafism is a sort of polytheism; one of the main features of unbelief is adherence to ancestral notions in religion like deification/worship of mortals and inanimate things, while refusing to judge such notions/practices according to the divine revelation (the Quran). Unbelievers used to refuse the divine revelation and to merely confine themselves to the ways of their forefathers. "And when it is said to them, "Come to what God has revealed, and to the Messenger," they say, "Sufficient for us is what we found our forefathers upon." Even if their forefathers knew nothing, and were not guided?"(5:104).

I said: No; the word ''Sunna'' in the Quran means sharia/way/method. This word comes in the Quran associated with and linked to God. Details of this can be found in our book on attribution, published here on our website. As for the word ''Messenger'', it means here in this context the divine message, which is the Quran as a book given by God to humanity via Prophet Muhammad. Details of this can be found in our book titled ''The Quran Is Enough", published here on our website.

He said: Do you have other proofs?

I said: Many verses have been repeated in the same context to assert the idea that such unbelievers refused to follow the divine revelation, i.e. the Quran, in order to stick to what they inherited from their forefathers. This is expressed in these verses about the Qorayish tribe and its distortion of the religion of Abraham: "Andwhen it is said to them, "Follow what God has revealed," they say, "We will follow what we found our ancestors following." Even if their ancestors understood nothing, and were not guided?"(2:170) and "Andwhen it is said to them, "Follow what God has revealed," they say, "Rather, we follow what we found our parents devoted to." What if Satan is calling them to the suffering of the Blaze?"(31:21).

He said: But these verses might be tackling the Arab unbelievers in particular, right?

I said: God has made this a generality as one of the features of unbelief: I mean the blind steadfast adherence to the notions/ways of the forefathers while claiming that one is thus guided. "But they say, "We found our forefathers on a course, and we are guided in their footsteps." Likewise, We sent no warner before you to any town, but the wealthy among them said, "We found our forefathers on a course, and we are following in their footsteps.""(43:22-23).

He said: How does this apply to our today's Salafis?

I said: examine (43:23) carefully, and you will find that the Salafis follow the same line of illogical thought in their insistence on adherence to notions like unified opinion of the Umma (believers) and the traditional hadiths (sayings fabricated by imams and clergy). In the Day of Judgment, all unbelievers will be described as the following: "They had found their parents astray and rushed along in their footsteps."(37:69-70).

He said: Is there another feature proving that Salafism is akin to unbelief?

I said: Yes, the Salafis insist that their forefathers are 'good', i.e., inviolable and infallible. No one can know the hearts and minds inside people, dead or alive. Only God knows that; and whether people turn out to be good or bad, evil or righteous, this will be revealed in the Day of Judgment: anyone who believed and did good deeds will be good enough to enter Paradise: "Those who believe and do good works-We will admit them into the company of the righteous."(29:9). Even prophets used to pray to God to make them join the righteous. Abraham said it: "My Lord! Grant me wisdom, and include me with the righteous"(26:83). Joseph said it: "…Receive my soul in submission, and unite me with the righteous"(12:101). Solomon said it: "…My Lord, direct me to be thankful for the blessings you have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do good works that please You. And admit me, by Your grace, into the company of Your virtuous servants"(27:19). Hence, Abraham prayed to God to make him among the righteous in the Day of Judgment, whereas the Salafi creed is so bold as to claim that all ancestors are righteous, good, inviolable, and infallible!

He said: Do you object to the description of the Prophet's companions as good/righteous?

I said: Yes, because Salafis made them all like angels who did not commit any sins or make any mistakes, whereas the Quran mentions them in a way that includes the hypocrites among them of every type. God will make the hypocrites in the lowest bottom of Hell and warns them in the Quran by torment in this world before the next. Despite all this, Salafis have the nerve to call all the so-called companions and contemporaries as righteous, good, and infallible! Salafis/Wahabis fabricate sayings/situations attributed falsely to the so-called companions, then claim they were never wrong in their stances/actions/words! They claim the companions never lie! They overlook purposefully that the so-called companions engaged in civil wars. They were not good or righteous in terms of Quran and history.

He said: Then you disagree to describing anyone, dead or alive, as good/righteous, right?

I said: Of course. When Salafis describe themselves and their imams as good and righteous, they lie to God. They resemble the wretched unbelievers of the Israelites who recommended themselves as pious. God says about such Israelites in the Quran: "Have you not considered those who claim purity for themselves? Rather, God purifies whom He wills, and they will not be wronged a whit. See how they devise lies against God. That alone is an outright sin."(4:49-50). God forbids us in the Quran to recommend ourselves as pious because He knows quite well the pious ones: "Those who avoid gross sins and indecencies-except for minor lapses-your Lord is of Vast Forgiveness. He knows you well, ever since He created you from the earth, and ever since you were embryos in your mothers' wombs. So do not acclaim your own virtue; He is fully aware of the righteous."(53:32).

He said: But Salafis/Wahabis cite and quote the Quran more often than not.

I said: They have forsaken the Quran despite its being present everywhere: the Quran is ever present/ absent to them. That is why you see them misinterpret its verses on purpose like the unbelievers among the Israelites who forsook the Torah and adhered instead to human-made tomes and volumes, which were unread and unstudied by most of them: "The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah, but then failed to uphold it, is like the donkey carrying works of literature. Miserable is the example of the people who denounce God's revelations. God does not guide the wrongdoing people."(62:5) and God refuted their self-recommendation in claiming falsely they were righteous: "Say, "O you who follow Judaism; if you claim to be the chosen of God, to the exclusion of the rest of mankind, then wish for death if you are sincere." But they will not wish for it, ever, due to what their hands have advanced. God knows well the wrongdoers."(62:6-7). The Muhammadans have committed the same sin; the metaphor here applies to them as well.

He said: But the Muhammadans, as you call them, do not object to making Muhammad and other prophets among the righteous, good people, right?

I said: The phrase ''good ancestors" in their creed does not include prophets at all.

He said: But they do not object to include them, right?

I said: Salafis/Wahabis have created a mythological deified character to Muhammad that is absolutely contrary to his real character we find in the Quranic text. Salafis have made such a deified mythological figure an insatiable womanizer, a traitor who slaughtered his enemies and POWs, a robber who enslaved women, a backbiter, and a narcissus who never left his mirror and kohl-case. This horrible, grotesque image is written in Al-Bokhary books. We have refuted such image in our book titled "The Quran Is Enough". This distorted image of Prophet Muhammad is very insulting and has been intended to sully his reputation and undermine him. Yet, Salafis/Wahabis believe it and do not mind to include such bad image and Al-Bokhary as a 'good' heritage to take pride in!

He said: I repeat to you that Salafis do not mind to include prophets in the good forefathers.

I said: I repeat my answer in more detail. Salafis/Wahabis have fabricated false characters to all prophets to make them appear in a mythological vein as deified mortals. For instance, they assume that David married 99 wives and had an intention to take the wife of another man to himself. They include such horrible stories from the Israelite questionable narrations into their interpretations of the Quran in these verses that include praise of David actually: please refer to (38:17-25). Salafis repeat fabrications about Abraham claiming he lied three times, in contrast to God's description and praises of Abraham as follows: "And who is better in religion than he who submits himself wholly to God, and is a doer of good, and follows the faith of Abraham the Monotheist? God has chosen Abraham for a friend."(4:125) and "And mention in the Scripture Abraham. He was a man of truth, a prophet." (19:41).

He said: What do you mean to tell me?

I said: Salafism/Wahabism is a creed fashioned by the Devil; it slanders prophets and deify/worship mortal sinners as well as attribute its lies, myths, and fabrications to God!

He said: What do you intend by all this?

I said: Clarifying the truth to all people.

He said: What if people refuse the truth?

I said: God says nothing but the truth: "O you who believe! You are responsible for your own souls. He who has strayed cannot harm you if you are guided. To God is you return, all of you, and He will inform you of what you used to do."(5:105)

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